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Cryptolocker neutralized, says Justice Department

A status report filed by the Justice Department on Friday indicates that the Cryptolocker threat has been neutralized.

Cryptolocker, ransomware that extorted more than $27 million from its victims in nine months of existence, can no longer communicate with the infrastructure used to control the malware, according to a Friday release.

“As a result, Cryptolocker is effectively non-functional and unable to encrypt newly infected computers,” according to the release.

On Wednesday, researchers with Bitdefender Labs stated that infected computers around the world are still trying to communicate with Cryptolocker's infrastructure, which remains up, and additionally speculated that an updated version of the malware could soon surface.

The Justice Department also announced that the number of computers infected with Gameover Zeus had dropped 31 percent, but on Thursday, Malcovery identified a new malware based closely on the infamous trojan.

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